Date Night
by Romione4Life
Summary: Aria convinces Spencer to take Toby on a double date with her and Ezra. Plenty of fluff!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story was inspired by my love for Spoby and my friend's love for Ezria. Currently it's just a one-shot, but I am planning to write more, so we'll see how this works out.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Pretty Little Liars.**

* * *

"Absolutely not," Spencer Hastings said firmly as she and Aria Montgomery walked into her house after school one Friday afternoon.

"Aw, come on, Spence," Aria begged.

"For the last time, the answer is no!" Spencer exclaimed. "There's no way I'm going on a date with you and Mr. Fitz."

"Toby would be there too!" Aria said. "And can you please call him Ezra?"

"Aria, he's my teacher," Spencer said, ignoring Aria's comment.

"_Former_ teacher," Aria corrected.

"Whatever! It would still be awkward, and can you imagine what my parents would say if they found out?"

"They don't have to know if you don't want them to," Aria said. "Look, I thought it would be a good idea for Ezra to get to know my friends better, and I wanted to start with you."

"I'm honored," Spencer said sarcastically.

"Seriously, Spencer! You don't think a Team Sparia double date would be fun? Just give it a chance. Please."

Spencer sighed. This was absolutely insane. "Fine," she relented. "I'll call Toby and find out if he's busy tonight."

"Thank you!" Aria said, beaming widely and throwing her arms around her best friend. "Ezra's already on board, so if Toby is available, we're good to go."

Shaking her head, Spencer pulled out her cell phone to call Toby. _What am I getting myself into?_ she wondered.

Toby picked up on the first ring. "Spencer? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah!" Spencer replied. "I just wanted to know if you were busy tonight."

"I don't think so. Why?"

"Aria's going out with Mr. Fi - Ezra, and they were wondering if we were interested in going along and making it a double date."

"Sure!" Toby said enthusiastically. "I hardly ever get to see Aria. It should be fun."

"Great! When are you finished with work?"

"Five-fifteenish, I think. Can I pick you up at six?"

"Perfect," Spencer agreed. "See you then! Bye!"

She hung up the phone and turned to see Aria grinning at her. "So I take it that's a yes?"

* * *

The two girls spent some time discussing plans for the evening and doing a bit of homework before Aria decided to run home and get ready for their date.

Spencer dug around in her closet for a while until she found a dress and heels to wear. She curled her hair and had just finished putting on makeup when there was a knock on the door. Taking a deep breath, she went to open it.

"Hey," she said, reaching up slightly to kiss Toby. She did her best to smile, but Toby still noticed that something was off.

"You know, we don't have to do this if you don't want to," he said. "I can say that something came up at work, or that I got sick -"

"No," Spencer said quickly. "I don't want you to lie. I'm doing this for Aria. Besides, I feel a lot better now that you're here."

"Good," Toby said. "It sure would be a waste for you to dress up like that for nothing. You look amazing."

"Thank you," Spencer said, smiling genuinely. "Now, we'd better get going. We don't want to be late."

* * *

Toby drove his truck into the parking lot of the Italian restaurant where they had agreed to meet. He and Spencer got out and walked inside.

"Spencer!" Aria called, waving her friend over to the table she and Ezra were already occupying. She jumped up and hugged Spencer as if they hadn't just seen each other a couple hours ago. Spencer returned the gesture and then took a deep breath. She turned to the man behind Aria as Aria greeted Toby.

"Nice to see you again, Spencer," Ezra said warmly.

"You too, Ezra," Spencer replied. Despite it being the first time she'd called Mr. Fitz 'Ezra' to his face, it felt surprisingly natural. She beamed, feeling more confident.

"I don't believe you've been formally introduced to my boyfriend, Toby Cavanaugh," she said. "Toby, this is Ezra Fitz."

"Nice to meet you," Ezra said, shaking Toby's hand.

"You too," Toby said. "Thanks for inviting us."

Spencer glanced nervously at Aria as they sat down. What were they going to talk about now that the formalities were over? Aria merely smiled reassuringly.

"So, Toby," Ezra began as they perused the menu. "How have things been with you since you left Rosewood High School?"

"Really great, actually. I think I made the right decision. I've been working as a carpenter, and I enjoy it a lot," Toby answered.

"He's very talented, too," Spencer said proudly. "I've seen a lot of the things he's built."

Ezra nodded. "That's good to hear."

"Maybe you could make something for Ezra's apartment," Aria said. "Goodness knows it could use a little sprucing up."

"Hey!" Ezra said indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just joking. I love your apartment," Aria said, leaning over to give Ezra a peck on the cheek.

A waiter approached them to take their orders, temporarily interrupting them. Once he left, Spencer picked up the conversation.

"Aria mentioned that you're working on a novel, Ezra," she said. "What can you tell us about it?"

"I can tell you it's far from being a novel," Ezra replied, chuckling. "I'm still developing characters and outlining plotlines."

Just like that, the apprehension Spencer had been feeling about the evening vanished. Being an avid reader, she eagerly pressed Ezra for more details about his book. Then, when she'd squeezed out every piece of information she could get, they launched into a discussion about their favorite authors.

"Look at them," Toby said to Aria after observing Spencer and Ezra for a while. "I was worried that Spencer was going to be uncomfortable all night, but it's like they've known each other for years."

"They certainly have become fast friends," Aria agreed. "But that was part of the reason for this date, so I'm not complaining."

"Well, we might as well take the opportunity to get caught up with each other," Toby said. "What have you been up to lately?"

"I've been doing a bit of writing myself," Aria said. "School and homework keep me pretty busy, though. Plus I recently signed up to take some advanced painting classes."

"That sounds interesting," Toby said. "I wish I was artistic."

"Says the guy who made his girlfriend a full-sized, functioning _rocking chair_," Aria countered. "And I seem to recall Emily telling me about a year ago that you were fantastic at drawing. I don't think she'd make that up."

"Speaking of my girlfriend," Toby said, blushing slightly at the compliment, "I'd better stop her before she completely overwhelms Ezra. If she hasn't done so already." He turned to Spencer, who was now chatting enthusiastically with Ezra about Tolkien versus Tolstoy, and gently laid a hand on her knee.

"All right, Spence, take it easy," he said. "Give Ezra a chance to breathe."

"Sorry!" Spencer apologized, looking embarrassed. "I got carried away."

"Only a little," Aria said teasingly.

They were again interrupted by the arrival of their food, and then they struck up a group conversation. Ezra, it turned out, was a very amusing storyteller, and kept them all entertained with various stories (though to Aria's chagrin, most of them were at her expense).

"You should see her when we watch horror movies together," Ezra said, elbowing Aria. "She's such a little baby – always screaming at the smallest little things and closing her eyes at the scariest parts. I bet she goes home afterward and sleeps with the lights on."

"Oh, _really_?" Spencer said interestedly. "Whenever someone wants to watch a horror movie at our sleepovers with the girls, Aria says she's already seen it or it sounds lame."

"Which is always true!" Aria cut in. "Don't believe him, Spencer."

"Then please explain to me why my circulation practically gets cut off from you squeezing my hand so hard and why I become nearly deaf in one ear," Ezra said. "I'm surprised I haven't been kicked out of my apartment because of the racket she makes."

"That only happened once! And that movie was terrifying!" Aria said defensively.

"I don't know, Aria. It sounds like your secret's out," Toby said with a laugh.

Aria crossed her arms and pretended to pout. "Is this revenge for insulting your apartment?" she huffed. "Whose idea was this date, anyway?"

"Yours," Ezra, Spencer, and Toby chorused.

"That was a rhetorical question!" Aria said. "But while we're on the subject, remind me to never suggest it again."

"Oh, come on, Aria. You know we love you," Spencer said.

"Speak for yourself," Ezra said. Aria glared at him. "Kidding!" he added hastily. "Wow, if looks could kill, I think I'd be dead."

"You and me both, Ezra," Toby said, earning himself a glare from Spencer that was nearly identical to Aria's. Toby merely gestured to her. "I rest my case."

"Men," Aria said, rolling her eyes at Spencer. "What are we going to do with them?"

The teasing and friendly banter continued throughout the rest of the meal. The group was having so much fun that they ended up staying for dessert. Afterward, they split the bill and then headed out of the restaurant.

"I take back what I said earlier. We have to do this again sometime," Aria remarked as the four of them exchanged hugs and handshakes.

"Definitely. I'm so glad you talked me into this," Spencer said. Toby wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"We should go. I have to be at work early tomorrow," he said. "But thank you again for inviting us along on this date."

"I'm already looking forward to the next one," Ezra said, taking Aria's hand in his.

They said their final goodbyes before parting ways to go to their respective vehicles, a smile on each of their faces. All in all, the evening had been a success.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I was so pleased with the response to the first chapter of this story. Thank you all very much! I'd love to turn this into a series of one-shots, so if you have any ideas, please leave them in a review or send me a PM. I'd be more than happy to hear suggestions, and I'd give you credit if I used yours. Thanks again!**

* * *

They really should have been leaving. Instead, they were curled up on Ezra's couch, spending some quality time together.

"Ezra, we have to go," Aria said, gently but firmly. "Spencer and Toby are expecting us."

"Five more minutes," Ezra murmured, pulling Aria closer to him for a kiss.

"That's what you said five minutes ago," Aria reminded him. She lifted Ezra's arms off of her and stood up to put on her coat. "And Spencer hates tardiness," she added.

"You're telling me," Ezra said as he started to put on his shoes. "Most days when I was at Rosewood High, she'd be ready to start class before me." He got to his feet and went to grab his own jacket. "So, Scrabble and a movie tonight at Toby's place, huh?"

"That's what I was told," Aria said.

"Are you any good at Scrabble?" Ezra asked.

"To be honest, I haven't played in a while. No one in my family really likes it, and the other girls and I decided to stop playing with Spencer because she always won. As far as I know, Toby is the only person who's ever managed to beat her."

"They may have an impressive record, but they have yet to face a truly challenging opponent: the formidable Ezra Fitz!" Ezra said. He struck a Superman-like pose, eliciting a giggle from Aria.

"Please don't do that in front of Spencer and Toby. They'll never take you seriously," she said.

"Ah, but that's part of my strategy, Aria!" Ezra said earnestly. "I'll fool them into thinking I'm a clueless amateur, and then I'll knock them dead. They won't know what hit them. Just wait and see."

"If you're so confident in your abilities, then we'd better get going," Aria said. "Otherwise Spencer will kill us for being late before we get a chance to kill them at Scrabble."

"That's true," Ezra agreed. "Let's go!"

* * *

The couple drove to Toby's loft above the Brew and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Spencer flung it open. "There you are!" she cried.

"We were starting to think we'd scared you off," Toby said with a smirk, coming up behind his girlfriend.

"As if!" Ezra scoffed.

"We lost track of the time," Aria explained.

"Well, at least you're here now," Toby said. "Welcome to my humble abode!" He gestured for Aria and Ezra to enter the loft, which they did so gladly.

"So what made you lose track of time, anyway?" Spencer wanted to know. "Were you mentally preparing for your imminent demise?"

"On the contrary, Miss Hastings, we were planning a victory party," Ezra replied.

"For us? How nice of you!" Spencer said.

Aria turned to Toby and rolled her eyes. "This is going to be a long night," she said.

Toby nodded. "I'm all for a bit of friendly competition, but this is a little ridiculous. Who knew Ezra had a competitive side?"

"Believe me, this is news to me, too," Aria said, shaking her head. "All right, you two," she added to Spencer and Ezra. "Are we actually going to play the game, or are you just going to spend all night trash talking each other?"

"Trash talking?" Ezra repeated indignantly. He put an arm around Aria's waist as they went to sit down at the table. "I'm offended that you think we'd sink to such levels! We're merely expressing our passion for the game."

"That's not what it sounded like to us," Toby said, taking his seat. The Scrabble board had already been laid out, so the pairs chose their tiles and prepared to begin the game.

"Wait," Spencer said. "Before we start, we should make a bet. The winning couple gets to choose what we do on our next date."

"That's assuming we have another date," Ezra said. "You might be so ashamed after your defeat that you –"

"Enough!" Aria cried, giving Ezra a light shove. "I'm in if you guys are."

"Sure," Toby said. "Let's do it!"

Aria and Ezra went first. After a short period of deliberation, they laid out the word 'sheet.'

"It's not great, but it's not bad for a first word," Ezra said approvingly. "I bet we're going to –"

"Your turn," Spencer said smugly, and the words died on Ezra's lips. Spencer and Toby had already placed their letters, building off of the 's' to spell 'sanctify.' "That's a fifty point bonus for us."

Ezra turned to Aria, a look of disbelief on his face. "This is going to be a lot harder than I thought it was."

* * *

Finally, Ezra had to admit that Spencer and Toby were a very talented team. He and Aria did their best, but they just couldn't match the other two. Spencer had an extensive vocabulary and was able to come up with long, obscure words (they had to consult a dictionary more than once to be sure she wasn't making things up). Toby, on the other hand, was good at figuring out where to place their tiles to maximize their points.

"Well, I have to be honest," Spencer said once the game had concluded. "You guys lost by a lot." She held up the score sheet as proof of her and Toby's victory.

"Yeah, yeah, you creamed us. Congratulations. Can we move on to something else, please?" Ezra grumbled.

"How about Spence and I pop some popcorn while you pick out a movie as a consolation prize?" Toby suggested. He took Spencer's hand, and they went over to the pantry to grab the popcorn kernels.

As the popcorn machine warmed up, Toby pulled Spencer closer to him. "You know that was supposed to be a friendly game of Scrabble."

"I'm a Hastings. Competitiveness is in my blood," Spencer said.

"You couldn't have toned it down a bit?"

"Oh, please," Spencer scoffed. "Don't tell me you weren't trying to win just as much as I was."

Neither confirming nor denying Spencer's accusations, Toby smiled and stepped away to get bowls for the popcorn. They walked over to the couch, where Aria and Ezra had already chosen a movie (a classic black and white film, naturally) and cuddled up under a blanket.

"Mmm, smells great," Aria said, reaching for a bowl of popcorn. Toby settled down with the other bowl while Spencer got another blanket. They made themselves comfortable on the couch, started the movie, and half an hour later, almost simultaneously fell asleep.

* * *

Aria awoke a little while later to find her head resting on Ezra's chest and her hand buried in the half-eaten bowl of popcorn. She pulled it out, wiped her buttery fingers on her leggings, and looked around. Ezra was still asleep, as was Spencer; Toby was looking at her affectionately as he twisted a lock of her hair around his finger.

"Good morning," Toby said jokingly when he saw that Aria was awake.

"Did that movie put us all to sleep?" Aria asked.

"Nah, we were just worn out from that intense Scrabble game," Toby said, causing Aria to smile. "So," Toby went on, "are you going as crazy about college as Spencer is?"

"Well, maybe not that crazy, but I'm working on it," Aria said.

"Have you started looking at any schools in particular?" Toby asked.

"I'm definitely considering Hollis. I've looked at a few colleges that are farther away, too, but I don't know if I'd truly want to go to any of them." Her glance at Ezra, though subtle, did not go unnoticed by Toby.

"Ezra will support you no matter what you choose to do," he said.

"I know, but it's hard. Part of me doesn't want to leave him, but part of me wants to get far away from all the bad memories I have of Rosewood. And the school I decide to go to will be where I spend the next four years of my life after graduation. A lot can happen in just a year – imagine what will happen in four. Then after that… Who knows?" Aria shook her head. "I'm sorry, you probably don't want to hear this."

"No, I completely understand," Toby said sincerely. "Well, actually, I guess I really don't since I'm not going to college. Still, every once in a while I think about what it would've been like if I had stayed in school. Don't get me wrong, I love where I am now, but sometimes I can't help wondering."

Just then, Spencer began to stir. Her eyes opened and she looked up at Toby, startled. "Did I fall asleep?" she said in surprise.

"Don't worry about it. We all did. This one's still out," Aria said, nudging Ezra with her elbow. "Hey, sleepyhead, it's time to go!"

"Do we have to?" Ezra mumbled, starting to wake up reluctantly.

"Yeah, I'm sure Spencer and Toby want us to get out of their hair, but they're too polite to say anything," Aria said. "Besides, it's getting late. Don't you want to sleep in your own bed?"

"Fine," Ezra said with a sigh. He got to his feet and stretched, followed by the other three.

"Thanks for having us over," Aria said as she and Ezra went to get their coats on.

"Anytime," Toby replied.

"We'll be sure to work on the plans for our victory date," Spencer added.

"And we'll work on our revenge," Ezra said. "Bye, guys."

"Bye!" Spencer and Toby chorused, and with that, Aria and Ezra left the loft.


End file.
